Conception
by Maudlin Blase
Summary: July 7 - Three months into her new life, Minako falls under the influence of the Lovers Arcana Shadow with Akihiko. The consequences? Pain, embarrassing memories, stomachaches, cramps, nausea, heightened sense of smell, vivid dreams, spotting, headaches, fatigue, mood swings, frequent urination, sore chest, no period, and a positive pregnancy test...
1. First Smiles & Introductions (Part 1)

_**Chapter 1.1 – First Smiles & Introductions**_

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 **A/N: So, I've had this story in mind for** _ **years**_ **. 5 ½-ish. I finally got down to writing it, probably not the best time to do so, since I just started uni, and final exams are in a few weeks… xD Although I have a –very,** _ **very**_ **\- rough idea of this story from start to finish in my mind, when it comes to writing, I. Just. Cannot. Which is part of the reason why I need to do this: to practice! (Because my writing is horrible, you've been warned! And btw, this is my first** _ **real**_ **fanfic, so…) Anyway, first chapter turned out a little too long, so I split it in two, first Shinji, then Aki. Hope you… enjoy? xD**

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 **4/6 (Mo)**

Minako sat alone on a bench at Naganaki shrine. She sighed into her hands, and rubbed them up and down her bare arms and legs in an attempt to warm them, mentally scolding herself for not wearing something warmer than the skirt and short sleeve she had on.

"Well," she mumbled to herself, "it's not like I had planned to arrive this late." She was late, _hours_ late, and she knew that someone was probably expecting her arrival to welcome her (at least that had been what the email describing the exact location of the dorm had said) though it wouldn't surprise her if they had just given up and gone to bed…). And it really hadn't been her fault… suicides at train stations are quite common in Japan (and she made sure to get an excuse paper from the station as proof…). Lowering her head, she breathed in deeply and said another small whole-hearted prayer, hoping for the person to have found peace and to not be suffering wherever they were now.

Some time afterwards, her hands were playing with the laces of her shoes, and she was trying hard to keep her eyes open. Yawning loudly, she stretched her tense arms and her back, and looked up at the sky. Only moments after she had stepped out of the station, everything had died. She counted down the seconds of the last minute of the day at the back of her mind (a habit formed after years), while quickly looking over the map for the nth time to remember the path to her new home before the lights went out. Her memory was as horrible as her nerves, even though the directions were quite simple and clear: "first, exit station through main entrance and turn right, go straight and turn left at the first street." Five minutes later, she could see the huge dorm across the street.

"Well, that was easy enough…" she said and laughed her worries away. Considering that she'd probably have to spend the next hour sitting outside on the front steps of the dorm, (wouldn't want to give anyone a scare by suddenly appearing out of nowhere) she squinted down at the map in her hands and recalled the shrine being close by, and how she had planned to pray for luck and health the following day. She shrugged. "Might as well do it now…" From where she stood, it was only a couple of streets down after all.

Ten minutes later, she was sitting at the playground, and as much as she did not want to think about it, her mind was bringing up thoughts of this town that had once been her home. She had tried to distract herself with music, books, and naps the entire day, but now she was here. It all seemed so foreign yet so familiar to her. Minako could faintly remember the days she had spent here after school with her mother who would push her on the swings, and her father, who'd help her down from the jungle gym.

In another attempt to distract her melancholic mind, she reached into her bag to retrieve a chocolate bar she had been saving to snack on. Ten minutes would soon have passed, but she had no intention of getting up just yet. Moments later, she was watching the sky while sucking on a square of chocolate and craving water when she felt her nerves go on edge. Was that…? No, it can't be…

Footsteps?

She was sure of it now.

They were coming from the stairs leading to the shrine, across the playground, but at that hour in the dark night she knew that any noise not made by her could only mean one of two things. As quickly as she could, she stood and grabbed her bag, anxious to see who or what was coming closer. Though it was from various meters away, she could see the figure step up the last stairs, growing taller with each step. She could see now that it was a human. Slowly she released the breath she had been holding in an attempt to remain unnoticed, but almost instantly, the person seemed to look up, stopping mid-step in their walk. Minako knew that just because it wasn't one of the blob monsters didn't mean she was in the clear, but she was certain that if it were in fact a person she wouldn't be harmed. Decidedly, she walked –albeit slowly, and eyeing her surroundings to make a run for it if necessary- towards the person. It was a man, she could tell, by his height and figure.

"Are you lost?" She tried to make her voice come out sure and friendly, but even to her own ears she sounded too loud and scared. Moments passed, and there was no answer. Minako was expecting the monsters to come out and eat the man's sanity away at any moment –she was surprised it hadn't happened already-. She had seen it happen before (images came to her mind of past victims from her old town), at times right in front of her, which was why she was so sure she wouldn't be harmed. She was only a few feet away when he stepped back and replied in a low voice.

"No. Are you?" He sounded just as surprised as she felt. Thoughts and questions rushed inside Minako's mind. It made no sense to her. He should be going crazy… and yet, the coffins on the roads, the green sky, and the huge moon seemed to have no effect on him. Could it be…?

Realization dawned on her.

He was like her!

She smiled broadly and her eyes widened, sparkling with the reflection of the limited light from the sky.

The man, on the other hand, stared at her with narrowed eyes, his face in a scowl, and frowning lips, but none of this seemed to change her childish and excited expression in the slightest bit. He looked away from her face, scoffing… and trying to remember his previous thoughts.

"Do you live here?" her excitement was too obvious and he was still confused about it. "This town I mean, not exactly _here_ here." She laughed awkwardly at her words in an attempt to ease his expression.

"Uhh," The man cleared his throat before mumbling a response. "Yeah."

She wanted to bombard him with questions; her stomach was fluttering at the idea of not being alone in the mystery surrounding the hour that had been a curse that up until then she had thought was hers and hers alone to deal with. Maybe he knew something about it that she didn't...? However, a part of her mind reminded her that she had somewhere to be, and she could feel her emotions threatening to make her cry.

"I just moved here," she explained, still so excited, "and I really should be on my way to the dorm before it gets any later, so…" Her voice trailed off. Her mind was a mess, which she knew she needed to clear, and her eyes were starting to prickle. There was someone like her, and he was standing in front of her!

"My name's Minako Arisato, by the way." She giggled a little uncomfortable at his silence. "And, you are?" He was still trying to make sense of her smiles and laughs; she should be confused and loosing it, and yet it was him who felt that way seeing how calm and happy she was as if it were the middle of the day. He cleared his throat once more before answering in his low voice,

"Shinjiro Aragaki."

"Well Aragaki-san," she cocked her head to the side and held her hand out to pass him something. His eyes were the only part of him that moved as he looked down at the thing in her hand. "I hope we can be friends." Again she laughed lightly as he only stood there not seeming to understand that she was offering him what she held. "It's only chocolate. Please, take it!"

He wanted to walk away, leaving her and her friendly smiles behind to go on his own way, but his hand seemed to have a mind of its own as it reached out and accepted the candy.

"Will you be here tomorrow? Up until now, I'd never met a person who was awake at this time, so I'm naturally a little shocked and curious about you." Again he didn't answer. "Anyway, if you can, please meet me here. I'll be waiting!" Minako tightened her grasp on the handle of her bag, stepped around him, and skipped her way to the dorm.

The next night, she sneaked out of the dorm through the fire escape minutes before the night changed, and sat at the bench in Naganaki Shrine waiting for Aragaki's arrival. The moment she heard the footsteps coming from the stairs, she ran to meet him, with that big and bright smile of hers which from day one managed to break his train of thoughts.

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 **A/N: And? How was it? xD I had some trouble figuring out where to start the story, but settled on the beginning of the game to give chance to get to know them a little before the real stuff starts.**

 **I'll post the next part in a few days. In the mean time, any advice? Anything you'd like to see in this future MC-Preg (no idea what the real term is) fic?**


	2. First Smiles & Introductions (Part 2)

_**Chapter 1.2 – First Smiles & Introductions**_

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 **A/N: Meeting Aki in this part \^.^/ Just as a heads up, I don't really plan on writing the typical game script (being that I've probably read it in like a thousand fics already…), but I won't stray very far from the original story line. In other words, I'll try to make it unique, but not too much.**

 **I actually wanted to wait a few more days before uploading this, but I just couldn't wait to get it out there already! Besides, nothing's really happening… Again, gonna warn yall that my writing is very boring… V_V**

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 **4/10 – 4/19**

"It's been days since then; shouldn't we be worried?"

"She's being monitored. The doctors say it's from pure exhaustion that she has yet to wake up."

"And when will that be?"

"We don't know. There's no way for us to know exactly when she'll regain consciousness. All we can do is wait."

Although they hadn't notice, Minako was awake and hearing their conversation, but decided against moving, not because she didn't want to but because her body didn't seem to react well enough. Even just moving her fingers hurt, and her eyes were too heavy to open… they seemed glued together. She recognized one of the people speaking; it was definitely her dorm mate Mitsuru Kirijo, her voice mature and feminine with a clear, business-like pronunciation just as it had been the times she had directed herself to Minako. But the other voice belonged to a male she had never heard speak before.

"In any case, you shouldn't be here. You should be in your own room resting." Minako heard the male sigh in obvious exasperation. "The doctors have informed me that you ignore their advice to stay in bed, and that you insist on _**walking**_ all the way here, _**twice**_ every day."

"I want to be here in case she wakes up. I can't get outta my mind the image of that _thing_ her Persona turned into, and how it slaughtered those Shadows.

"Nor can I."

 _What the heck are they talking about?_ Minako simply attributed her misunderstanding to not having heard correctly. She was too tired to think straight anyway.

"However, that is no excuse for your continuously careless behavior." Kirijo-san was scolding him again, and Minako felt a little uncomfortable, noting the tone of familiarity they spoke with, not sure if to compare her reproaches to a worrisome mother, friend, or lover…

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. From now on, I'll just take the elevator then." Had that been a joke? He had sounded completely serious though. Minako mentally shook her head. What a strange conversation she had woken up to. "Shouldn't you be going back to school? Lunch break is almost over."

The next time Minako woke up, she still felt tired, but managed to open her eyes without much trouble. The first thing she noticed was that the sun was either coming out or it was setting, covering the wall in front of her bed in a scarlet light. Slowly, she turned her head -though her neck was painfully stiff- and saw a person seated on her right wearing a hospital robe. His arm was bending and unbending over and over again, pulling on an elastic cord tied to something below which she couldn't see. He was exercising? In her room? Minako breathed in deeply, and that caught his attention; he looked up at her, and it seemed to surprise him that she had her eyes opened, because he suddenly let the elastic go and with a smack it seemed to hit his foot. He winced and cursed under his breath at the pain. Minako giggled, or at least had attempted to. Rubbing at his foot, he looked at her face again.

"How are you feeling?" She recognized his voice. So, he had been the one with Kirijo-san before, the one who she had said was frequently visiting her room. Minako tried to stretch her limbs, but they only moved a little, and her head was still in pain. She tried to speak but gave up, deciding on shaking her head from side to side. He snorted and smirked at her.

"That bad, huh? Well, at least you're awake now. You've been out cold for the past 4 days." No wonder her body was so stiff. "About the other night, do you-" Minako tried to blink, but her eyes opened slowly, fatigue taking over her senses again. The boy stopped talking, and smiled instead. "Never mind. You're probably still tired. Go back to sleep if you want." Minako replied with a smile of her own, and mouthed the word "arigatou" before closing her eyes again, and falling back to unconsciousness.

The boy couldn't help but stare at the lingering smile until it disappeared completely.

It wasn't until days later when Minako woke up again. She was welcomed to reality by Yukari, who went on to explain the world of Personas and Shadows in a nutshell to her, making sense of the conversation she had overheard. The next night, when she entered the room on the 4th floor of the dorm, she saw her dorm mates and the chairman seated and conversing together. She felt shy as their talking stopped abruptly when she appeared, and all eyes were on her. For less than a second her eyes met his, but she averted her gaze noting how intense his had been. In that instant Minako recognized his face as the one she had once woken up to at the hospital. Ikutsuki-san greeted her and introduced her to the boy who stood and held out his hand.

Akihiko Sanada.

"How ya doin'?" She felt ridiculous when her cheeks turned hot from the all the attention, and at the small shock she felt when her hand touched his, feeling how callous and big his fingers felt against hers.

Seated next to him, she could see him in her peripheral vision as she listened to the Chairman and to Mitsuru-senpai. Minako was nervous; she was sitting too straight, legs neatly closed and swept to the side, and her hands were fidgeting in her lap, not that he seemed to notice though. She could make out that his right hand was covering the left side of his abdomen and the back of her mind remembered what Yukari had said about him breaking a couple of ribs the night she fainted, which was the reason why he was in the hospital for the following week.

' _Though, that didn't seem to bother him much when he picked you up after you fainted and took you to the lounge with little to no help.'_ She had said with a teasing smile, and a roll of her eyes.

Minako tried to concentrate on what was being said, though she already knew most of it either from what Yukari had explained or from 10 years of personal experience. Still, when they asked her to join their group, she had trouble imagining herself fighting off those ' _shadows'_. She had never actually fought one of them, being that none had ever attacked her… In fact, the only monsters she had ever come close to were the ones who crept up to others who -for some reason- stayed awake during that hour. Her physical condition was poor, probably the reason why she was unconscious for so many days… How could she possible be useful? She tried to express her lack of self confidence, but they seemed like they wouldn't accept "no" for an answer. Then _he_ turned to her, with passion and excitement for his work in his eyes and crooked smile, and she found herself accepting the silver box with her shiny new 'gun' inside. Everyone was all smiles and relief, but she was biting the inside of her cheeks, feigning calm, when on the inside she kept repeating _"What have I done?"_

Later, while she lay in bed thinking over the events of the day, she blushed and smiled to herself as she remembered _him_ , how he had looked at her, and how strong his hand had felt against hers. After shaking her head, she remembered something that had been bothering her all day: Aragaki-san. He hadn't said anything about SEES, or her dorm mates… then again, he had barely said anything at all the second and last time they had met. If he didn't know, _boy_ , was he in for a surprise, but if he did, why hadn't he told her? Turning on her side, she decided to sleep for now, and idly planned to find Aragaki-san the next day and ask him.

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 **A/N: Kinda forgot about Shinji until the end, just like Minako** **.** **xD** **So far, who do yall prefer of the two?  
Also, Rizard13, yes, in the last chapter Shinjiro was on his way to feed Koromaru, and as I mentioned in the PM, I wanted Shinji to be the first person Minako meets upon arrival, just to make their relationship a bit more… strong? I don't wanna spoil it though (even for myself, because even I'm not that far into the story yet! xD). **

**As with the previous chapter, any advice, comment, or anything else for that matter is very welcome! ^_^**


	3. Best Friends & Mindless Words

_**Chapter 2 – Best Friends & Mindless Words**_

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 **7/2 (Th)**

" _Shrine tonight?"_ The text Minako had sent during lunchtime at school received a reply in the middle of boring math class, two hours later. Thank goodness she had prepared for it by setting the phone to vibrate mode earlier.

" _What do you want to eat?"_

" _ANYTHING~!"_ She couldn't help but smile widely at the screen as she added a couple of emoticons to her text that looked just as happy as she felt.

Later that night, Minako was ecstatic as she pulled the two take-out boxes from the brown paper bag and placed them in the space between them on the bench. She slid off her shoes, turned her body, and lifted her legs to cross them, making sure to keep her hand on her skirt and her knees together to avoid an embarrassing situation, and Shinjiro thoughtfully kept his eyes away as she settled in her typical position to eat.

After he was sure she was comfortable, he turned to grab his box of food and saw her already with her hands together, chopsticks in her right, and her eyes closed in prayer.

"Itadakimasu." He kept watching her, his body leaned forward to rest his elbows resting on his knees. She took her first bite and gave the usual reaction to his food: wide eyes, hands together in front of her chest, and wiggling her torso from side to side in her weird and childish way. "Delicious, senpai, as always!" She praised after she swallowed her food. She was childish in many ways, he knew, but he had never heard her speak with food in her mouth or chew loudly. Shinjiro snorted at the compliment, and started on his meal.

"Needs more pepper…" He saw her shake her head dramatically and slowly through his peripheral vision.

"You're too hard on yourself, Shinjiro." He remembered Akihiko saying the same to him multiply times and it would always make Shinjiro curse at him and walk away. Of course, he would not do that to Minako; he just kept eating.

They continued in comfortable silence until they finished their meals. Minako cleaned up, stuffing everything back into the bag, placed it on the ground, and leaned her side on the back of the bench. A couple minutes later, Shinjiro turned to look at her, and saw her close her eyes slowly, but reopen them quickly. He chuckled and she looked up to see him smirking.

"You sleepy?" Again, just like a child: wanting to sleep right after eating. He too leaned back on the seat and Minako moved over to him, placing her head on his shoulder.

"You should head back to the doom. Weren't you planning on going to Tartarus tomorrow?"

"I want to stay here a little longer; the breeze feels nice. These days, the dorm feels like an oven; the air conditioning messed up the other day. Yukari said it was Junpei's fault for messing with it." Another minute passed in silence. "He's still mad at me, I think."

"Tch, he's still jealous and immature you mean." Minako sighed.

"So much for 'best bros'…" She mumbled. Shinjiro still remembered the last time they were together and how she had told him of Junpei's rants in Tartarus about her being the leader of their team. She had obviously been upset about it.

"Hey." He shrugged his shoulder lightly to get her attention. Minako looked up at him but he kept his eyes on the seesaw in front of them in the playground. "Then what am I?"

Minako's eyes widened a little more and he instantly regretted his attempt at cheering her up, feeling embarrassed as he realized what he had said without thinking. Suddenly, she burst out in giggles and poked his side repeatedly, surprising him although he could barely feel her fingers through his clothing.

"Oh, senpai! Who's the jealous one now?"

"I-I didn't mean it like that-" He mumbled, but was quickly interrupted by her.

"Of course, _**you're**_ my best friend. I mean, come on, who else would bring me food in the middle of the night that they made themselves?" Shinjiro wanted nothing more than to smile like an idiot at her words, and he could feel his lips twitching, but he forced them to stay in his typical stoic expression. "But Junpei's helped me out a lot at school. He's not a bad guy, he's just… confused." Minako nodded and Shinjiro sighed at how she was trying to defend her stupid friend.

"Yeah, yeah." He got up from his seat and dug his hands in his pockets. "Come on, I gotta go to the store." Minako jumped up from the bench knowing well that whenever Shinjiro invited her to the store, it always meant he would buy her ice cream.

As they walked to the convenience store in Paulownia Mall, anything and everything that came to mind she would say and he would listen. She talked of her other friends from school, about work, and how much she surprisingly missed Mr. Tanaka (who had said his final goodbye to her a couple of weeks ago) and his weird, twisted advice.

"Wait here." Minako did as he said, and stood outside the store with her hands locked behind her back. She looked around at the few people walking out of the mall. She was starting to get impatient when something caught her eye: someone leaving the police station. Almost immediately, Minako recognized him. Akihiko-senpai! The red vest was a given. She looked into the store to check for Shinjiro, but he was nowhere to be seen yet, and as she turned back to Akihiko she saw him walking out. She called out his name and waved her hand to get his attention, successfully. He looked around for a second in surprise until his eyes met hers. She was making her way to him, smiling that smile of hers that he knew so well and that usually brought one to his own face.

"Minako, what are you doing here so late?" She stood in front of him with a playful jump in her last step.

"Oh, I came with Shinjiro-senpai." After pointing to the store behind her with her thumb, she went on to explain their reason for being at the mall. "And you, senpai?" Akihiko was thinking of how strange it seemed to him still that Shinjiro so willingly hung out with Minako. 'Well, it _is_ Minako…'

"I had some business with Officer Kurosawa. The number of Lost grows most when the full moon is close. He gave me an update on the list of people currently missing." Minako nodded remembering a girl who stood outside their dorm the other day and her empty stare. Akihiko, seeing the complete change in Minako's mood, cleared his throat and tried to change the subject, but before he could say any more he saw Shinjiro exiting the store from behind Minako. Spotting them easily, Shinjiro glared at him as the thought of his still-bruised shoulder from their last argument came to mind. "I think you should get back to him." Minako looked behind her to Shinjiro, and not understanding the tension between them, called Shinjiro over, but he only looked away. "He's not going to come." Minako looked up at Akihiko with her brows raised in question, and he only shook his head and gave his typical sideways smirk. "I guess I'll see you back at the dorm then?"

"Okay…" Minako nodded, confused, before an idea came to mind. "Wait! I'm going back home too, I might as well go with you." She smiled brightly and before Akihiko could respond, she was running back to Shinjiro. Akihiko snorted and shook his head once more slightly amazed at how comfortable his typically antisocial friend seemed with Minako.

" _Amazing_ …"

"I didn't know you and Shinji were so close…" They were walking side by side on their way to the dorm; Akihiko turned to her and she giggled as she recalled her and Shinjiro's early friendship.

"He was actually the very first person I met when I moved here back in March." He saw her bite off a piece of the popsicle in her hand, and it was clear her reply had surprised him. "Mmm… We get along really well. He's helped me out a lot, and he always brings food when we meet. I'm comfortable with him; I can tell him anything. He's such an older brother." She laughed at her simile, but Akihiko was far from laughing. He stopped walking and when Minako looked back to see what he had stopped for, she saw him frowning.

"You see Shinji as an older brother?" Disbelief was thick in his question. Minako nodded slowly.

"Is that really so hard to believe?" She giggled once more. "What kind of person is Shinjiro-senpai with you?" Akihiko started walking again as he thought out her question.

"Well, he's always a rebellious idiot, that's for sure. We can't even talk about the weather without it turning into an argument and someone usually ends up walking away, or we fight."

"Fight? As in you hit each other?" Akihiko nodded slightly ashamed to be admitting it to her. She shook her head.

"Boys… Yet, you're still friends, _best friends_ , aren't you?"

"Yes." He answered without a doubt in his mind. "I can always count on Shinji when I really need it."

"I know." She smiled fondly. "He's a good person, always worrying for others, even though he doesn't like to admit it. Like the dog who lives at the shrine, when we first met there, he was on his way to give him food. And whenever I'm feeling stressed out about anything, he always listens to my rants." She laughed at the memories that came to her mind. Akihiko looked at her noticing how happy she seemed talking about Shinjiro, and wondered idly…

"Do you like him?" He had only whispered it, without thinking it, yet the reactions it provoked…: Minako choked, coughing a few times before looking at him with wide eyes, meanwhile he blushed in embarrassment mentally scolding himself for not keeping his thoughts to himself.

"N-no! Well, I mean, of course!" Minako didn't know how to explain exactly, and Akihiko looked just as flabbergasted as her.

"I'm sorry." Akihiko didn't know where to place his sight. "I wasn't thinking-"

"Senpai." She forced herself to look into his eyes, and it seemed he did too. "Seriously, I don't like Junpei, nor Shinjiro-senpai any more than as friends."

Minako could feel it; those butterflies in her tummy, her face hot and her mind blank as she looked at him like that. They were alone on a dimly-lit street, and for a moment she could imagine how they might look like a young couple to someone else, **but they weren't**. And that brought her back to reality.

Akihiko, though, felt completely ridiculous. Not only had he already asked her such a private question as her relationship status with a guy once, but twice (first time was about Junpei). However, there was relief, for what, he wasn't exactly sure, just the fact that she wasn't dating either guy made it feel as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"Again, I'm sorry for asking." She shook her head and smiled at him, and they only resumed their walking.

"It's fine. Really."

In an attempt to change the subject, she mentioned going to Tartarus the next night, and talked about the new equipment she had recently bought.


	4. Conception & Apologies

**_Chapter 3 – Conception & Apologies_**

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 **A/N: Ahh! Finals are over! :D I'm very sorry for disappearing without a word, but I just didn't have enough inspiration to write a new chapter when I knew I should've been studying. It's summer vacation now, though it doesn't feel like it yet... Anyway, this is the chapter the story is named after. I tried (very hard actually xD) not to make it too explicit, but just suggestive enough of what happened. As usual, all very rushed, but oh well. xD**

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 **7/7 (Tu)**

Yukari had insisted on going no matter what; Akihiko was _always_ on the team; Junpei, well, between him and Mitsuru, there really was no question about it -Minako was getting desperate to redeem their relationship after being avoided all week.

They tried to avoid the shadows leading to the boss monster, considering the fact that they would probably need as much energy and health as possible when they'd find it. 3 me patra gems, half health, and an all-out attack later, they beat the Hierophant shadow, yet, something felt off… Compared to the last boss shadows, it had been relatively easy…

Her gut feeling was proven right when the door wouldn't budge.

"I still sense a Shadow in that room! But… where is it hiding?" The four of them turned around, weapons out and raised in defense, but they saw nothing even remotely similar to a shadow with them. After a moment of consideration, they began to search around the room. Finally, Minako looked up into the mirror in front of her and suddenly, it was clear they were still in danger…

Minako woke up to a sharp pain in her side, followed by a dull pain in her head. For a moment, she lay still feeling like she had just woken up from a deep sleep that would soon overtake her again, but three things made her jump up in the bed:

1) She was naked; she could feel the sheets on every inch of her body. Minako never slept naked,

2) The pains she felt… If she _was_ naked, and felt _that_ area hurting even in the slightest bit, well, some part of her mind considered it a disaster in the making,

3) The sound of running water. In her room?

As she looked around the dimly lit pink room, holding up the blanket to cover herself, her eyes widened and panic took her breath away.

"Where _am_ I?" She cursed herself as she realized she was in a hotel room. After spotting her clothes on the floor, she pulled the covers with her as she practically fell onto the floor in her hurry to dress and figure out what had just happened. It didn't take very long to realize it though.

Half dressed, searching for her skirt, she saw the red vest that could only belong to one person. In the moment _his_ name came to her mind, so did the images of what had happened.

She was going to be sick.

Tears came to her eyes. Disgusted and embarrassed, she put on the rest of her clothes and grabbed _his_. Minako wiped her face and as she looked around the room again she saw the blood (or what looked like it under the light of the Dark Hour) on the bed, and another image. She picked up the sheets she had left on the floor and threw them on the bed to cover the proof.

She hadn't even noticed that the water had stopped running, or that the door of the bathroom had opened.

"Hey, it's your turn next…" Minako turned around quickly to see Akihiko standing in front of the bathroom door in only a towel. With tears still sliding down her cheeks, feeling scared, humiliated and enraged, she walked up to him, _now_ immune to his dark eyes and crooked smile, and threw a hand against the side of his face.

"How could you?!" He clearly had not expected that, but it had made him snap out of whatever mind control he had been under. Just as she was about to punch his nose into his skull, he grabbed her wrist and held it in place. She only cursed at him.

"Minako, wait! What the hell's going on?" She pulled her arm out of his grasp and kicked his leg, making him fall. As she wiped her face with her hand once more, she walked back to the bed and threw his clothes at him.

"Put your clothes on."

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She felt violated, physically and mentally.

Not by Akihiko (though she _did_ have to keep reminding herself that he too was a victim) but by the -monster, demon- shadow they had chased (and mercilessly annihilated) only an hour ago.

Her eyes felt heavy and burned from the salty tears she couldn't control. Thankfully, she had managed to keep her thoughts and emotions on hold, at least until she was safely in her room, away from the eyes of the rest of her teammates, though not including Akihiko; they hadn't met eyes since they had been alone in the hotel room.

The painful, raw, worn-out feeling she got from her insides, just as the sore, overused, tight feel he noted as he pulled on his pants, was proof that they had really done it. The memories which kept coming back into their minds as he paced back and forth and as she lay under the blanket in their own rooms only made them feel more disgusted and angered with themselves for having been controlled, for letting their bodies act with no rational thought or even the slightest consideration.

They had been used, for what reason, they couldn't think of any other than the simple fact that the shadow just wanted to cause the hurt and confusion it had successfully done.

All they were left to do now was repent on not being stronger and try to convince themselves that it hadn't happened, no matter how explicit the flashes of memories were.

* * *

 **7/13 (Mo)**

It had been almost a week since then, and still they both felt dirty and embarrassed.

She knew her position as leader of the team, and even though it would be beyond uncomfortable for her to talk to him after what had happened during their last mission, she knew she had to be objective about it. Minako had had her time to grieve over it and decided it necessary to put it behind them and continue with how things were prior to the events.

So, she sent him a text during math class that Monday afternoon.

"Wanna hang out after school? Beef bowls?" After hitting send, she felt her stomach twist nervously. Thankfully, though, it didn't take long for him to reply.

"Sure. Meet you at the gates."

* * *

After the last class of the day, while putting everything away into her bag, Minako tried to calm herself with deep breaths. Yukari had already left for club activities, and Junpei was _still_ pissed off, for some damned reason.

Without a second thought, Minako got up and walked out towards the school entrance. As she was changing her shoes, she could already see the red vest waiting for her. She wondered if they'd ever go back to how they were before.

More deep breaths and before she knew it, she was there in front of him trying hard to smile as usual, but it only came out awkward and forced, just like his.

"So, shall we get going?"

As they walked to Port Island Station both tried to come up with some kind of safe topic to talk about, failing miserably. Finally, Minako decided to address the events of the week before.

"Akihiko-senpai?"

"Yeah?" They continued walking and avoiding eye contact. Knowing that they were getting closer to the station, and would probably not have much time left alone before being surrounded by classmates also on their way to town, Minako stopped walking. It didn't take long for Akihiko to notice and turn around curiously. "What-"

"I'm sorry!" Minako bent over in a bow. Shocked, Akihiko walked back to her.

"H-hey, get up. What are you even apologizing for?" She stood straight again and looked up at him.

"For what happened last week. It was a complete disaster. I shouldn't have let the shadow control us like that, or have hit you, or have ignored you-' She was babbling now, and Akihiko felt like a mute fool hearing her apologize for something that had been completely out of her reach. Finally, he cleared his throat and put his gloved hand her shoulder to stop her talking.

"Minako, you have nothing to apologize for. We were only doing our job, and if anyone should be begging for forgiveness, it should be me." He shook his head and winced. "None of that should've happened. Please forgive me." Now Minako shook her head hard from side to side.

"But I'm the leader! I was in charge of the mission. I'm supposed to be responsible for what happens to the group, and so I should take full blame for it."

"As your senior in both age and experience, I shouldn't have allowed any of that to have happened. Anyway, we're both sorry about it, so maybe we should just leave it at that and move on." He smiled gently and waited for her miserable expression to change, as it did. Minako bit her lip and nodded.

"I agree." Suddenly, her expression turned joyous. "And now I'm hungry, so let's go?" Akihiko chuckled, and so they continued on their way.

Both knew that the traumatizing event would never be forgotten, but for the sake of the other, they tried their hardest to leave it behind them.

 _Impossible._

* * *

 **A** **/N:** **I'll be using time skips quite often. As I said before, I don't want to retell the original P3 story and dialogue for the thousandth (or more xD) time, and I don't want to drag this story on too much, so I only want to include scenes that express the characters and their relationships the most.**

 **Thank you to everyone who's reviewed the past chapters. It's nice to get constructive criticism that's polite and truly helpful. ^.^**


	5. Vacation & Symptoms

_**Chapter 4 – Vacation & Symptoms**_

* * *

 **A/N: So, finals are over once again. ^.^...** **I don't even remember the last time I came onto FF… xD I just saw that the last time I updated this story was on June 13! WTF, honestly… I'm sorry to anyone that was expecting more from this; as I've been reading fics for nearly a decade now and I know how annoying it can be when you're interested (even in the slightest bit) in a story and you want to see what'll happen next but the author takes years to update… Anyway I really want to thank the people that would review, favorite, pm, this story and me. I've had such a horrible year (who didn't, no?) since it was my first of uni. I spent 80% of this year too depressed to even read anything, let alone be inspired to write. If any readers from last June are still here, I'm sorry for being so lame! xD I hope I can do better.**

* * *

 **7/18 (Sat)**

"So glad exams are over!" Minako stretched her arms above her head while smiling widely.

Shinjiro and she sat in their usual place at Naganaki Shrine, Koromaru sitting between them on the ground.

"You've said that about ten times already."

"Well," She turned to him. "It's as true now as it was ten times ago."

As they ate the deserts Minako had bought at the Sweet Shop earlier that afternoon, they talked about their week. Minako hadn't said anything about what had happened between her and Akihiko during the last mission, and it seemed to her that he hadn't mentioned it to Shinjiro either, so she just skipped over it. She did update him on her relationship with Junpei though, talking about how before they had left school earlier that day he had – _finally_ \- apologized about his "stupid, childish, and immature behavior", which surprised Shinjiro, being that usually Minako would be fairly patient and accepting towards people, not that he didn't disagree with her choice of words this time. She also brought up the vacation she'd be taking with the group in Yakushima the following week.

"Pleeease, come with us! It'll be fun and relaxing."

"My answer is still the same."

"But whyyy?" She frowned exaggeratingly, making Shinjiro chuckle and feel a little guilty about rejecting her offer.

"I have things to do."

"I'm sure Akihiko-senpai and Mitsuru-senpai would also be happy if you'd come along with us." She eyed him playfully. "If it's because you're worried about taking off your clothes to wear a swimsuit-" He nudged her, making her laugh at her foolish joke.

"Shut up." He murmured, blushing slightly.

"Seriously! I'm sure we can find something you can wear that'll cover you up just as much as that pea coat. A cape, maybe?" He cursed at her this time, but laughed along with her.

"Do you want the last piece?" She asked, talking about the last of the small chocolate cake they had shared. Shinjiro looked at her weirdly. Minako always took the last of everything, especially sweets.

"You don't want it?"

"Nah." She leaned back on the bench and rubbed her stomach. "I'm stuffed. I think I've been eating too much these days…"

"That's not surprising." Minako smirked at him, but he was focused on eating the slice of cake. "So, what are _you_ going to wear?" Her brows rose, though he only kept his eyes on the cake in his hands.

"Why? You curious?" He snorted. She laughed, taking his question as a hint of his protectiveness. "There's no need to worry, Akihiko-senpai and Junpei will be there to make sure I'm safe from any beach-lurking perverts."

' _Though not from shadows...'_ Minako's smile fell a little as the idea passed through her mind. She tried to suppress it, and _whoever_ it had been that had suggested it.

"They'd better."

* * *

 **7/20 (Mon)**

"Dude, you are _literally_ **green**."

Minako's face contorted once more as she swallowed hard to keep down the melon bread she'd had for breakfast… what was left of it anyway. She had woken up with a bit of nausea, but paid it no mind and decided that the best remedy to an upset stomach would be to eat something warm and spongy, like a cup of tea and bread. Once she started eating, she couldn't stop until her insides were stuffed, which she now regretted profusely as she sat taking slow deep breaths on the boat to Yakushima. Yukari and Fuuka were at her sides, one ready to help lead her to the side of the boat and hold her hair back and the other holding a glass of water to help clean if - _when_ \- necessary.

Junpei had gone over to them after screaming out to the heavens from happy excitement once more. He had bent down to look at Minako more closely and made the comment about the color of her face. Yukari lifted her foot high and kicked his stomach to push him away.

"Shut up, _Stupei_!"

"Yo!" He rubbed his stomach mindlessly, "What'd you do that for?"

As Junpei and Yukari began another typical round of their bickering with Fuuka on the side trying to calm them down, Akihiko was coming up from the inside of the boat with a small bottle of pills in his hand.

"Hey, I got the medicine." He said as he walked over to them. Minako looked up at him and tried to smile.

"Thank you, senpai, but I really don't think I need it."

"But it'll make you feel much better, Minako-chan." Fuuka had given up acting as referee for the two who were still at it, and decided to stay by Minako instead.

"I'll be fine." She shook her head lightly and Akihiko snorted while smiling a little proud of her endurance.

"So typical of you, Minako, to want to tough it out before taking any meds."

"Well, even if I were to take any, it probably wouldn't stay down long enough to have an effect." Fuuka rubbed her back gently. "Besides, didn't Junpei say we were almost there?"

"We can definitely see the island already, but it'll probably take another half an hour before we get off-"

"Half an hour?!" Minako groaned, feeling more nauseated at the news and the idea of feeling like that for anything more than 5 minutes. Once more, she could feel herself salivating and rushed to the side of the boat with the help of her friends to empty the remaining contents of her poor stomach.

* * *

"Hey, umm, maybe I should carry her?"

Minako had both arms around Fuuka and Yukari's shoulders who were already struggling to carry their own bags and luggage, even after Yukari had practically forced Junpei to carry the bigger bags for them. In the half hour it took for them to reach land, she had definitely gotten worse, almost on the brink of fainting. The only thing that kept her awake was the idea of soon reaching an air conditioned room with a cool bed and thin sheets, all the opposite of her own room at the dorm where the a/c was still not working properly.

"Good idea, senpai." With sighs of relief, the girls helped Minako wrap around Akihiko back. As much as he tried to focus on helping the ill girl, he couldn't help the way his heartbeat accelerated a little as he felt her body against his, or how his hands trembled slightly as they grabbed her bare thighs. He blushed and tried hard to concentrated on her extra weight as a simple workout opportunity instead. Minako, although only slight lucid at this point, felt just as uncomfortable with the sudden contact and for a moment wished she could have worn less revealing summer clothes.

Since when had a piggyback ride become something so… perverse?

* * *

"Alright Minako-chan, this is your room." Fuuka helped pull the luggage in behind Akihiko who was still carrying Minako.

Akihiko walked towards the large bed and turned to put poor Minako down. Feeling the memory foam mattress under her, she slipped off him and onto the bed and sighed contently, finally able to relax with the cool, fresh sheets and the new lack of motion. Before Akihiko could fully get up and move away, Minako gently and tentatively grabbed his hand. He turned around slightly surprised, and she smiled at him.

"Thank you, senpai." In that moment, he remembered the first time they spoke at the hospital days after she moved to town. That smile of hers- beautiful and breathtaking. After a moment of staring, he squeezed her hand and let go.

"You're welcome. Rest now, Minako." She nodded, pulled her hand back, and closed her eyes.

How someone so young and small be so strong and brave, he still couldn't comprehend.

* * *

Minako was no fool. Despite the lack of sex education in the Japanese school system she knew that when two people do _it_ there will always be a chance of pregnancy -especially when no contraceptive methods had been used. She was sure of what had happened in that hotel room with Akihiko during the dark hour. For the past couple of weeks, she had prayed that nothing had resulted from it, but there was always that body-numbing fear, the headache inducing anxiety, and small suppressed whispers from her personas that came with _those_ memories and _those_ thoughts. The frequent nausea she had most days didn't help calm her nerves in the least either.

So, when she awoke on her first afternoon in Yakushima from her nap and felt the long awaited, familiar, warm, sticky wetness in her underwear, she jumped up from the soft bed and ran to the bathroom.

She pulled down everything and saw the tiny stain of red on her panties. Relief washed over her, leaving her breathless and grateful, thanking any god that had heard her prayers.

* * *

Having packed the necessary items for the expected situation Minako had no problem wearing her swimsuit comfortably.

When she had walked out of her room, she asked the first maid she saw about her classmates, and found that they were already at the beach. She quickly changed, her mood much better compared to that morning (now that she felt so optimistic and relieved), and practically ran to meet them.

It wasn't hard to find the group; the girls were squealing and complaining, shielding themselves with their hands as Junpei yelled excitedly while flinging water at them repeatedly. Minako walked to them and Yukari was the first to spot her.

"Hey Minako!" Everyone ran out of the water to meet her. "Feeling better?" Minako smiled happily and nodded.

"Yep!" Still, she rubbed her empty stomach. "A little sore from this morning -my poor tummy…-, but I don't feel nauseated anymore." Junpei pushed her arm playfully.

"Phew, we were worried about you, man!"

"But I'm ok now!" She smiled her bright and cute smile. "I honestly didn't think I'd bet so seasick…" The group chuckled. They invited her to play in the water with them, which she did. As she looked around at the beautiful beach, she noticed that Akihiko wasn't anywhere in sight, so she asked Yukari about it.

"Oh, I think he went to get some… weights? Or something like that." Both giggled a little at how strange their senpai's obsession with training could be at times. "Oh my god, have you seen his bathing suit yet?"

* * *

 **A/N _:_** _ ***Goes back and reads the first part which I wrote half a year ago***_ **Ah yess…**

 **So, is she pregnant or not? Yes, of course she is. But I wanted to include this false hope of her not being it, because I've heard and read in my investigations that many women have bleeding during pregnancy, which is actually normal since their bodies are producing so much more blood.**

 **I honestly wish Shinji could've gone with them to Yakushima V_V. Can you imagine him half naked on the beach? *blush* Wait, now that I think about it, in a live version he would probably look very, very similar to my favorite korean guy *fangirling* Sung Joon, who's the definition of my ideal type. xD What do yall think?  
**

 **If I got anything wrong, like names or dates, please give me a heads up, cause I haven't played P3P in years, and I get stressed looking at all the faq's and videos for dates.**

 **In the next chapter, I might make Minako find out the truth, and** ** _someone_ ****might** **find out also… ;D I wanted to include a special part with Fuuka (spoiler?!), and there's also Aigis… :D AND, what about the Velvet ( _had to google that since I thought it was Violet..._ ) Room?! Does anyone know where I'm going with this?  
**

 **(Btw, do yall prefer Theo or Elizabeth?)**

 **So, who do yall think is going to be the first of her friends _(_** ** _TheBraveGallade,_ I'll try to include as many reactions as I can xD) to find out the truth? Take into consideration what I said about the two girls and the people inside the V.R (and also their powers…). Honestly, I don't even know myself. **

**Till next time!**


	6. Questions & Answers

_**Chapter 5 –**_ _ **Questions & Answers  
**_

* * *

 **A/N: Hi ^-^ 1 1/2 years later, I am still alive (barely!) and Minako is still pregnant (completely!)~ It's been a few days since I've really been needing a distraction from starting work/school again, so I came back to P3P T.T Takes me back to 2012, when I was stupid and young, with no responsibilities, and my obsession with P3P was at it's peak... How time flies! I hope some of you original readers are still interested. *shrugs* Wouldn't blame you if you weren't xD** _ **  
**_

* * *

 **7/20 (Mon)**

Although she had been enjoying herself, Minako decided to rest for a while on one of the long beach chairs, away from the sun. The heat and salt water were making her too uncomfortable and thirsty. She grabbed a juice from the ice cooler the group had brought with them and took small sips. Her stomach was still aching, probably from all the vomiting she had done on the boat… Just thinking about it was starting to make her feel worse… She laid her head back on the chair and closed her eyes, focusing on the sounds of laughter from the guests and of the waves. A few minutes into her peaceful meditation, she suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"Umm, Minako-chan?" She opened her eyes and saw Fukka standing at the base of the chair, seeming slightly more hesitant and shy than usual.

"Hi Fukka," Minako smiled widely and pulled her legs up to make space on the chair. "Wanna sit down?"

"Oh- yes! Thank you." She sat neatly and turned her body towards Minako. "How are you feeling?" Minako groaned a little and rubbed her sore gut. Her friend looked at her sympathetically before returning to her nervous and confused expression that made Minako think she had something specific to ask.

"What about you? Is something wrong?" Fukka's eyebrows went up, though she didn't deny she had something to mention.

"Well, it's just that…" She seemed to be looking for the right words. "Lately… I've kind of noticed something a little unusual… about your Personas." Minako sat up a little more.

"My _Personas_? What do you mean?" Fukka blinked various times and looked at her hands in her lap.

"Last night when I was with Lucia doing a usual scan of the area for Shadows," She looked up frowning in confusion, "Umm, I felt like your Personas were trying to… maybe... _push_ me away? I felt like I couldn't sense them as strongly as usual…" Minako really didn't understand what Fukka was talking about.

"And… that's never happened before?" The words came slowly out of Minako's mouth.

"Well, it's actually been happening for a while now. Maybe a few weeks? But… I don't know." She shook her head, her eyes watching her hands on her lap. "I don't get that feeling from anyone else. I mean- you aren't exactly as easy to understand as the others, because of course, you're powers are much more complex than ours. Just the fact that you have various Personas while everyone else just has one says a lot." Fukka smiled in admiration. "I suppose I've just been a little worried about this change I've noticed." Minako couldn't really understand what Fukka was worried about; everything that had to do with their powers was strange and fairly unpredictable.

"Well, last night I _was_ practically dead, but if you say it's been going on for weeks… Maybe it could just be, stress?" She shrugged, not really giving it much thought. "Last week we had final exams, and I've been sleeping very late trying to cram for them, and, of course, there's the late night training, and the hundred clubs I'm in at school…" She chuckled nervously at how crazy busy her life had become. "Maybe my Personas are just trying to help keep my mentality sane?"

They didn't have the chance to talk more on the subject, since Junpei walked over, breathing heavily and dripping with water.

"Hey, guys, come on! Let's playyy! We're supposed to be having fun!" He seemed to notice Minako's exhaustion, though he did pull Fukka away with him to the waters again.

Minako slouched back into her seat as she watched them resume their playing. She decided she would "ask" her Personas about their odd behavior that night.

* * *

After what happened with Yukari and the final recording of her father, Minako decided to stay at the beach and wait for the dark hour to happen there instead of in her room. After all, she could protect herself, or at least she was close enough to the Kirijo's vacation home to run and warn the others in the worst case. She checked the time again on her phone and started to count down the last seconds of the day as the dark hour came close. Right on cue, any light not coming from the sky was gone, and the ocean in front of her became tinted red as it ceased its gentle waves.

Predicting that she probably didn't have much time until Fukka would notice her absence, she got up, quickly smacked the sand off of herself, and held her evoker firmly in her hand, ready.

She closed her eyes, concentrated, and tried to access her list of Personas. Inside of her mind, she was murmuring questions to her Personas about her biggest fear, hoping someone - _anyone_ \- would answer. No one did.

Minako was getting annoyed with their silence, and put the gun to her head. She called out her currently favorite Persona, Take-Mikazuchi, who stood twice as tall as her. He turned to look at the girl and her increasingly desperate face.

"Answer me." The Persona simply started at her with the usual, blasé expression. " _Please_ , I need to know." She suspected that if anyone knew the real state of her body it would be her _masks_. They stood in agonizing silence for a few seconds before he finally answered,

"No." And then he disappeared.

As he did so, Minako heard her name being called from far away. She didn't care though; relief, confusion, doubt, or _something_ made her bend over, clutching at her stomach as tears ran down her face and silent sobs escaped her lips.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Minako stood naked in her room's bathroom.

She looked down at the pad in her hands.

There was only a single, small smudge of blood (or what looked like it under the light of the Dark Hour) on the middle of it.

* * *

 **7/23 (Thu)**

"I going to go out for a walk, you guys!" Minako was just about to leave when she noticed her boot's laces had come undone.

"Are you certain you will be fine going out alone tonight, Arisato? We haven't been able to fully scan the area for any changes or enemies."

"Dude, it's gonna be midnight soon…"

"I can go with you if you want." Minako looked up from the newly formed knot to see Akihiko getting up from the couch.

"No! I-!" She jumped up, startling not just herself but also everyone else in the room with her loud reply. She cleared her throat and tried to giggle away the suddenly awkward moment. "Eh, guys, I'll be fine." She smiled widely, though she noticed Akihiko still didn't mind leaving with her. "I'm just going to the pharmacy to get something I _really_ need."

Her last comment had the intended effect.

"Oh, uh, ok then. Then uh-" Akihiko had clearly understood the hint and, now a little nervous, sat down again. "Just don't stay out too late."

"Minako-san, I would very much like to accompany you on this mission." Minako chuckled again, fairly pleased by her protective friends, including their group's new addition.

"Aegis, I promise I won't take long. You should stay here."

* * *

Minako hadn't lied when she had given them the idea that she was going to the pharmacy for feminine products.

 _Though she was certainly not there for the ones they had imagined._

She currently sat on a bench by Escapade, careful not to be too noticeable to the few people walking around. Her hands were twisting and pulling nervously at the hem of her skirt; her legs were unable to stop fidgeting from the anxiety she felt; and her eyed carefully watched the hands on the mall's oversized clock as they slowly moved.

Once midnight, she sighed and forced herself to stand. As she walked towards the pharmacy, she couldn't even hear her own footsteps over the loud beats of her heart. The chimes of the bells hanging from the door made her jump and remember to get out her "specially made SEES flashlight" from her purse. Already knowing what aisle she needed to go to, she quickly went through the products, and pulled out various boxes that seemed to be related to her needs, mentally calculating the amount of money she would need to leave behind.

* * *

After forcing herself to take her time returning home, Minako finally walked up the steps of the dorm and opened the door. Trying to appear as calm and nonchalant as she could manage, she looked over towards the couches, where only Mitsuru and Akihiko were.

"I'm home." She smiled at them, though not really meeting their eyes.

"Welcome back, Minako."

Minako noticed they seemed to be talking about important business, though just as she was about to turn and leave, a certain picture on the table caught her attention.

"Umm, is that little boy… Ken Amada?" She wondered why they would be talking about him of all people. Neither one answered for a moment.

"Yes, his name is Ken Amada. Do you know him?" Mitsuru, as always, seemed all business. Minako walked over to look at the picture more closely, tracing a finger down his cheek.

"I've only met him a couple of times… He's a strong kid." She could still remember meeting him about a month ago at the shrine, whining though holding back tears as he wrapped a bandage around his bleeding leg after falling down the steps.

"He really is." Minako looked at Akihiko, who was watching her carefully. She smiled back and nodded gently. "Shinji found him the other night, walking around town during the Dark Hour." Minako's brows rose. "We're not sure yet if he was the potential or not.

"But he's so young… Too young to have to deal with all of this…" Without thinking it, she placed her hand on her abdomen, feeling sick again. The contents of her bag came back to mind and suddenly she was anxious again. "I should go-"

"Have you spoken to him recently?" The question confused her a little, and Mitsuru too apparently since she also looked at Akihiko.

"Oh –um, I really don't know Ken very well..."

"I meant Shinji." Both girls still looked at him, though Minako couldn't see Mitsuru's expression

"Shinji-senpai? I haven't seen him since the night before we left for Yakushima." Akihiko only nodded and turned back to the papers.

* * *

Wanting to wait until after the Dark Hour, Minako made sure to take care of every little detail: she had brushed her teeth and hair meticulously, changed into her pajamas, unpacked her bags, cleared her desk, and finally –when the lights came back- she pulled the boxes out of her purse.

" _You already know… You're just in denial."_

Had those been her thoughts, or had they come from one of her Personas?

* * *

Again she was pacing, though this time in the girl's bathroom with the door locked, five different pregnancy tests in a line near the sink, and her phone's timer with only a few seconds left.

Her fingers were aching from so much twisting and pulling. Finally, the phone started beeping. Taking in a deep breath, Minako picked the first plastic up.

 _Two lines_

 _"C" and "T"_

 _"2 weeks"_

 _Plus_

 _Smiley face_

 _"Pregnant"_

Minako threw the test back onto the sink and ran to the toilet to be sick.

* * *

After returning to her room with all six positive tests back into her purse, Minako slid under her sheets, tears streaming.

 _I knew… (_ _ **You did.**_ _) I know… (_ _ **You do.**_ _)_

 _I am. (_ _ **Yes.**_ _) I really am. (_ _ **Yes.**_ _)_

 _But he doesn't. (_ _ **He should.)**_

 _Has he ever even considered the possibility? (_ _ **No.**_ _)_

 _Should I tell him? (_ _ **Of course.**_ _)_

 _What will we do? (_ _ **Together…**_ _)_

* * *

 _"We have to talk. I need to tell you something important. In person. When can we meet?"_

* * *

 **A.N: I had always planned for Minako to find out first. I hinted (various times xD) as to why that was possible, though I feel like I couldn't describe it as strongly as I wish I could... Not very much happened in this chap, and yet so much! This is just the beginning though; now the thing will be how will she tell everyone else?! :D I still can't decide between Theo or Elizabeth! I adore them both so much T_T I feel like, in my brain, Theo = flirty innocence and more jealous Aki, and Elizabeth = overprotective older sister. Too hard! Anyway... *ahem, ahem* Who do you think she messaged at the end? *wiggles eyebrow*  
**


End file.
